Competence and Confidence of Early Interventionist/Early Childhood Special Educators

To provide the maximum benefit to children with disabilities receiving early intervention services, it is essential that personnel who work with those children have the specialized knowledge of infant and toddler's development and the ability to successfully collaborate with families. Although the need for qualified and trained personnel is well established, there continues to be no nationwide certification or standards to ensure appropriate qualifications. The lack of public policy on early interventionist qualifications has lead to varied training and qualification experiences of personnel; which has influenced how competent and confident they are in providing services to families and children birth to 5.

Findings from a 2006/2007 National web based survey of Part C Early Interventionist & Part 619/Part B Early Childhood Special Educators will be presented. Results on how competent and confident providers felt about their work with children with disabilities will be presented. Results indicate that most practitioners (80%) report not getting the training they need to work with children with disabilities through professional education programs. Only 50% of respondents report being required by their state to complete specialized training to work with children above and beyond their professional credentialing requirements. A significant need identified by practitioners is achievement of IFSP/IEP outcomes, with only 30% of respondents reporting that children are consistently reaching stated outcomes.

Policy implications include a more comprehensive training model for personnel working with young children with disabilities that includes outcome development and better training to work with various disciplines.